When I was growing up in Cleveland, my dad was a bus driver and a proud member of the Amalgamated Transit Union. Although he passed away in 2009, the lessons he taught about what it means to be a union member have never left me. That's why I'm proud to be a union son, and proud to be a union dad.

Wisconsin -- where workers have a deep and rich history of fighting for a voice on the job -- is the latest state to enact a law intended to sap them of their power and strength. With Gov. Scott Walker's signature, the right-to-work scam is now the law in Wisconsin.

The members of our union will not condone officers abusing their communities' trust. But we will always stand with officers across this nation who keep us safe and who strengthen our communities. It is sickening to see law enforcement targeted with violence, as they have been nationwide in recent months.

We've finally emerged from the crash of 2008. We've had 58 consecutive quarters of job growth. Unemployment is declining. Productivity is up. Yet, most Americans aren't exactly high-fiving each other. Never mind the state of the union; the state of their households isn't great.

You can't really blame people for giving up on Congress when every indication is that Congress has given up on us. But I still believe in our democracy and in our nation's ability to come together and solve the tough problems.

It's been a rough four years for the women, men and children living on the margins in this country. Those margins have gotten a lot more pronounced and swallowed up a lot more folks in states run by extremist, right-wing governors.

This Labor Day weekend, millions of Americans will enjoy the final stretch of summer. Most won't think about the 1.6 million hardworking public service workers of AFSCME who are on duty 24/7. But evidence of what we do for our communities will be everywhere.

Don't be fooled by the recent USA Today column in which Charles Koch, a man who made billions while trampling workers' rights, shares his supposed deep concern for working families, young people and the disadvantaged.

It is ugly individualism that underlies the political ideology of the rich industrialists who are spending billions in an effort to shred Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and who are attempting to stop the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Unions are an impediment to their grand scheme, so they're coming after us with a vengeance.

If there can be such a thing as a typical American billionaire, David H. and Charles G. Koch do not fit that bill. They are not just among the richest Americans -- $100 billion and counting. They are deeply political libertarian industrialists.

In Rick Snyder's Michigan, there's no money to make good on the pensions seniors in Detroit worked a lifetime to earn, but there's always a few hundred million available for a billionaire who wants an extravagant new sports arena.

Yes, we have survived the Great Recession and employment is up. But according to the Census Bureau, one-third of adults who live in poverty are working. They simply don't earn enough to support themselves and their families.

Scott Walker and his tea party cohorts bought the snake oil of austerity. They forced the Badger State to drink it. And Wisconsin's families are suffering because the governor ignored the evidence that it is a toxic brew.

Conservatives are being forced to take sides: They can either stand with promoters of inflammatory tracts -- like the Heritage Foundation and their hack Jason Richwine -- or they can stand with Americans in both parties who are working to fix our broken immigration system.

One of the great lies of our time is that raising taxes on the wealthy hurts job creation and undermines economic growth. There is absolutely no evidence anywhere in the world that this claim is true. In fact, all the evidence points to the exact opposite being true.

Romney has made no secret of his contempt for the men and women who sacrifice for all Americans. It is the same contempt he feels for every American who relies on government to help when there is a need for a helping hand.